For those who don’t know anything about amps, Friedman is a US company that makes tube amps in the US. The amps start around $1,300 for a small 20 watt head, and they’re known for their high gain Marshall-type sound. The BE-MINI is a solid state amp made… somewhere where the labor is dirt cheap, and they’re 30 watts. 30 watts of solid state power would be enough to use in some rock bands on stage, but not others, unless you mic it up… but in most semi-pro or pro situations, you will be putting a mic in front of the speaker cabinet.
The Good
It sounds like a Friedman amp. It definitely does the high gain thing. It sounds… very good, but not as good as the real thing, of course. Or does it? In a recorded track, could most people tell the difference and would they care? No and no. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy one of these, except I play direct to PA through a HX Stomp. I really like it!
The Bad
Here’s my concern. You’re a teenager and you play metal. You form a high school metal band with a drummer and a bass player. The drummer plays really loud. Will this amp be able to keep up? Conventional wisdom says no – you’d need at least 50 watts to keep up with a really loud drummer, and 100 watts would be better. 30 watts would work in a tube amp, but solid state isn’t as loud. It just isn’t. Normally. But for bedroom/home studio use, this thing looks cool.
The Ugly
I have one gripe, and it’s a big one: why not charge a little more and put in a Celestion V30 speaker cab IR output? For stage or studio, this would make the amp far more useful. Or just plain useful, when it comes to recording. I mean really. It would have been SUCH a good idea. But no product is perfect.
Summary
Killer product at this price point. But I do wish you could record direct with it. Oh well.
